poaching

Convictions and fines have been handed down on a man who illegally shot a giant buck — behind a city fire station! — and his son for helping drag it out and haul it to the processor. Gerald Schott Sr., of Jonestown, Pa., was hit with a $7,100 fine for illegally killing a 13-point...

Beginning July 1, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will become a part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. The Compact is an agreement between member states that recognizes suspension of hunting, fishing and trapping licenses across state lines. Commissioners from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved the effective date for joining the...

Game wardens with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation recently wrapped up an important case that proves illegal hunting activity just isn’t worth the cost. In the landmark case – completed in October 2013 – a total of 73 wildlife violation charges were filed against 13 individuals who pleaded guilty in both Oklahoma and...

A Michigan man has been charged with illegally killing a deer on property owned by the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Gregory Shaw, 40, of Taylor, Mich., was seen hunting on the Old Prisoner of War Camp owned by UAM. The land is east of Monticello on Arkansas Highway 35 and is not attached...

A massive investigation into illegal hunting activities has resulted in jail sentences, fines and other penalties for more than two dozen in multiple states. “Operation Cimmaron” resulted in two outfitters selling hunts in Texas and more than two dozen hunters being prosecuted. The investigation began a decade ago following citations written by Texas wildlife...

Four Florida residents from Okaloosa and Walton counties are facing multiple charges for killing at least seven deer at night on Eglin Air Force Base, two of them large trophy bucks in velvet. Justin Leon Bailey (DOB 09/25/90), Niceville; William Cody Meakin (DOB 12/07/89), Mossy Head; and 16- and 17-year-old juveniles from Niceville are...

Jerry Kaster, 40, of Moravia, pleaded guilty and was assessed the maximum amount of $20,000 in liquidated damages for unlawfully killing of a trophy whitetail deer in Appanoose County. The case began with a call to the Turn in Poachers hotline on Dec. 2, 2010. According to the investigation, Kaster had shot a buck...

Anonymous tips through a telephone hotline helped wildlife officials during an investigation into illegal hunting activities that resulted in multiple charges, convictions and penalties for four men. On Aug. 22, 2013, Joseph A. Benjamin, age 44, of Walpole, N.H., pled guilty in the New Hampshire 8th Circuit Keene District Court to a Class A...

Ten defendants were sentenced on June 10 in U.S. District Court for illegal hunting activities involving black bears, deer and other wildlife and related offenses in a multi-agency undercover investigation. The sentences are the result of “Operation Something Bruin,” a multi-agency initiative focused on the illegal poaching of bears and other wildlife in North...

An Oklahoma man has entered a plea of “no contest” to 46 citations amounting to about $14,000 in fines in what officials say is one of the biggest wildlife violation cases in its county’s history. Joseph Dewayne Harris Jr., 23, of Bartlesville, Okla., entered the “no contest” plea on June 18. That means he...